This post was originally published in 2015, and updated on February 7, 2020.
Most buses that service the popular tourist destination of Melaka terminate at Melaka Sentral. This is not ideal for most tourists because Melaka Sentral Station is still around 15 minutes away from Jonker Walk (the primary tourist area of Melaka).
So this raises the big question: What’s the best way to get from Melaka Sentral to Jonker Walk?
Quite recently Malaysia’s taxi prices were increased significantly which now makes public transport a more practical option than before. Although it depends on the time of day and the corresponding traffic, I would recommend taking a bus from Melaka Sentral as opposed to a taxi.
Taxi drivers in Melaka typically don’t use a meter, which of course can easily result in the passenger paying more than they should for the journey.
Since most of the hotels in Melaka are within walking distance from Jonker Walk (street) you should have no problem walking from the bus stop unless you have a load of luggage. Therefore, it is important to know where to go at Melaka Sentral in order to avoid delays in your journey.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to get from Melaka Sentral to Jonker Walk by bus:
Step 1. Once you arrive at Melaka Sentral, you will notice that the Station is organized based on international and domestic bus departures. I wouldn’t book your room near the station.
Instead, proceed to the domestic bus terminal of Melaka Sentral to find the correct bus heading to Jonker Walk.
Step 2. The domestic terminal of Melaka Sentral has plenty of different ticket offices. You can ignore these and proceed directly to bus pick-up Gate #17. You will be able to clearly see the gate numbers through the glass windows from inside the Station.
Step 3. During our recent experience visiting Melaka, at peak times Bus #17 can get quite crowded due to the combination of locals and tourists trying to make their way down to Dutch Square, Jonker Walk and the rest of the top attractions in Melaka.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to wait outside near Gate #17 to make sure that you get a spot on the bus. If it’s quiet at the time, then just wait inside if you want.
Step 4. The longest we have waited for a bus to arrive at Melaka Sentral was twenty-five minutes. Expect to wait between fifteen minutes to thirty minutes for the bus to arrive.
Step 5. Once you are on the bus a local bus employee will walk around to collect money for the ticket. The bus ticket from Melaka Sentral to Jonker Walk costs RM 2 (approximately $0.50 USD).
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Rent a Car: Not all places have good public transport
Step 6. The quickest travel time between Melaka Sentral and Jonker Walk is roughly ten minutes. One weekends and during rush hour expect heavier traffic and a travel time of twenty five minutes or more.
Step 7. The bus will drop you off at Dutch Square which is literally 100 meters from Jonker Walk. To get to Jonker Walk simply cross the road and you will be right in the heart of Melaka’s UNESCO World Heritage city.
Step 8. We recommend booking a room right in the vicinity of Jonker Walk to minimize your transit time while in Melaka.
Once you complete your search here, you will be able to immediately compare prices on the world’s best accommodation website.
Some hotels are listed as “Malacca (Melaka) City Centre” but they are actually quite far from the action. Therefore, be sure to check the location of your selected hotel before finalizing your booking.
Where to stay in Melaka
Each and every time we have visited Melaka we have had the same overall priority: stay close to Jonker Walk. And by ‘close’ I don’t mean necessarily right on this famous street. Many of the streets running parallel to Jonker Walk are quieter and still convenient.
The last time we were in Melaka we stayed at Kawan Kawan Guest House. Overall, this was a conveniently located budget option (about 3 minutes from Jonker Walk).
We shared a three-person room and overall our stay was quite pleasant. The partitions between their walls could be thicker, subsequently, if a party crowd was staying there it could get a bit too loud.
There are many accommodation choices in Melaka that fit a range of budgets. To look for the right hotel, you can use one of the three sites to book our room: www.agoda.com, www.booking.com, or www.hotelscombined.com.
Both Agoda.com and Booking.com offer wide selections and competitive prices whereas www.hotelscombined.com is a price comparison site that we use all the time to find the cheapest rooms.
Booking Flights To/From Melaka (Malacca)
How did we find the cheapest flight(s) to Melaka (Malacca) during our trip?
The most practical airport to fly into when you are planning on seeing Melaka is Kuala Lumpur International Airport (airport code = KUL). Technically, Melaka does have its own airport but 99% of tourists don’t fly there as no major airlines fly there.
Typically, tourists first fly from different regions around the world to Kuala Lumpur and then transit (taking the train or bus) to Melaka. We used two different price comparison sites for our flight to Kuala Lumpur: Momondo and BookingBuddy .
Once we arrived in Kuala Lumpur we followed these steps to get to Melaka. Another alternative option to get to Melaka is flying into Johor Bahru or Singapore. I have personally travelled from Johor Bahru to Melaka following these steps.
I would suggest that you should use price comparison sites to find the cheapest flights to KL, Johor or Singapore. I have included a link to both Momondo and BookingBuddy – a site that we commonly use to save you some time and cash:
COMPARE FLIGHT PRICES TO Melaka (Malacca): Momondo
COMPARE FLIGHT PRICES TO Melaka (Malacca): BookingBuddy
You can also use the Search Box below to compare prices across hotel providers in Melaka:
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Have a safe and enjoyable trip to Melaka! Keep on chasing places…
May I know how to go to Melaka Encore from Hatten Hotel ?
thanks this will save us time and money!
Thank you very much <3
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Hello, I recently traveled to Malacca and I follow the instructions in your post which where really helpful, at the end the bus was 2 RM but still very good. Thank you!!! I wrote a post about it and link here as thanks.
Thanks Ian – that really helped on our arrival at Melaka Sentral last week (and I was particularly keen to avoid a taxi with all the signs about taxi touts all over the station!). Knowing we should just go straight to gate 17 was great.
Incidentally, on our way back to Melaka Sentral, we just got our hotel (the Casa del Rio) to book a car for us. Apparently, if we wanted to get the bus back, since the 17 does a loop, we’d need to catch the same bus at Dutch Square (which would take an hour or so to get back to Melaka Sentral) or walk to the other end of Jonker Walk (with all our luggage) to get the bus on its return journey (which would then only be about a slightly cheaper 10 or 15 minute trip). A bit more expensive to get the car, but much less hassle, and also ensured we made our bus to KL in time!
What bus from Melaca Sentral to Terandak Camp
Many people have left their thanks but I would like to add one more. Thank you for the detailed guidance to help your fellow travellers. I was able to follow perfectly!
Very informative firum. Tq.
Thank you, glad you like it. Please like our Facebook Page for more informative articles.
May i know how to go from Malacca Street to Link Hotel?
Hi Chin, is there a particular landmark on Malacca street where you will be going from?
Thanks
May i know how to go from Malacca Sentral to Jonker Street?
Hi Chin,
Really sorry for the late reply. I don’t know if you made the trip or not. The fastest way to get around Malacca is by taxi. Unfortunately, the taxis here are notorious for not using the meter. They will usually give you a set price. If you have a Malaysian sim (it’s very cheap and convenient to use), I suggest you get 3g, 10 ringgit can give you 1 gig, Then use Grab or Uber app. because they are reliable and prices are fairer.
It took me over an hour to get the bus because of long queue – definitely takes longer than 25 mins for the next bus to come. For people who’d like to save time, I definitely recommend using grab taxi or uber which I regretted not using.
Hi Crystal, the article is based on our personal experience. But it is important to take note that public transport scheduling (esp. bus) in Malaysia and in Southeast Asia in general, is not consistent. So yes there’s always a risk of waiting longer or the buses breaking down. If time is tight and you don’t mind spending more money, then getting a taxi or grab are good options for getting around Melaka. 🙂
Hi…i would like to know how far the Hotel Hong from bus terminal. If use taxi how much is the fare. Thank you.
Hi Siaw Lin, I don’t know the distance between Hotel Hong and the bus terminal. In this case, I suggest you use Google Maps, and it could easily give you the distance. Taxis in Melaka usually don’t use the meter unfortunately (from my experience). They give you a set price once you hail them. Oftentimes, it is higher than the rates in Kuala Lumpur. That is one of the disadvantages of Melaka as a travel destination.
Hello is there any public transpo from melacca central going to broga hill? Thanks
Hello, as far as I know there is no direct public transport to Broga Hill from Melacca. You have to arrange a car company to drive you or you can rent a car and drive there yourself.
Hello,Can you tell me what transport local or working people use in melaka?I guess taxi fare quit expensive for expatriate
The bus system is cheap and alright based on my experience there…
Hi Ian, can you tell me how to wait for the bus from jonker to melaka sentral? Can I wait the bus from opposite the Dutch Square? Thanks
Hi, good morning!
May i know where is the bus stop number 17 in Jonker street area to return to Melaka Sentral bus station? Thank you!
The bus stop is right beside the church. 3 minute walk to Jonker.
Please see answer below. The bus stops on both ends of the street. The best stop if you are going back to sentral is the opposite side of the church.
THANKK YOU SO MUCH. IT DOES HELP ME A LOT
Thanks…great to hear!
May I know how abt the reverse? Taking a local bus back to the malacca central to catch (interstate) your coach out of Malacca
I caught the bus on the opposite end of Jonker, not near the church but passed the hawker area.
This is perfect! So useful ? thank you!
Thanks
Hi, i wan to know that is there any bus from melaka central to jonker street at night time?
So organized and easy to follow!
Thanks
Great article and useful for our journey planning!!!!!
Thanks